Hi everyone. I managed to get a few interesting shots of gulls today. Thought I'd post them and see what you thought. These were all shot with D50, 70-300mm VR hand held, ISO 800, f/8 ,1/1250 ,300mm. It was an overcast day with very low light. The images are cropped, sharpened, contrast added.

Fearless Leader, I used f/8 mainly as a quick-n-dirty setting. However, it’s also a compromise between better light and having more DOF. It’s hard to see with these small pictures, but number 3’s head is in focus and the wing tips are not. I would have liked more DOF but the low light wouldn’t alow.

Thanks Thomas, I felt I needed ISO 800 with that kind of motion – those gulls weren’t super fast but they weren’t standing still either. I really like the D50. I never understood why they call it a beginners camera (except for the fewer settings). It certainly has a pro feel and rarely leaves me wanting.

David, I normally start out in f/8 what ever I’m doing. The 70-300mm VR has a surprising narrow depth of field which is great for the blurry background effect but it can leave some of your subject out of focus if it has a lot of depth, like wing tip to wing tip.

I especially liked the old-masters kind of dark background effect, Rembrandt style. It was unintentional but I’m glad it came out that way. I don’t think I could reproduce it, just the right light on the right day.

Hmmm, I'd assume this is from the movement (if the gull flapped his/her wings), because even at 1/1000 sec animals can move too fast for this, esp. at this kind of magnification.
I have a special shot to prove this! Look at the dog's ear at 1024x685

Yes, I’m sure that motion is a factor also Thomas. The wing tips certainly would be moving faster. However, take a look at these slow moving geese at about the same settings and distance. The first one is not in focus, the second (only a foot or so behind) is in focus, and the third is starting to fade. Clearer in huge pix here: http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2391/206 ... 7e48_o.jpg

The short DOF at f/8 is not necessarily bad. It’s one reason the gulls stand out from their background so well. It does put demands on autofocus however. I’m not pretending to have all the answers here, but I believe that a wider aperture would have shortened the DOF, which I would have chanced if the gulls weren’t zigging around all over, and if I was being more adventurous. If I narrowed the aperture I would get deeper DOF but less light on a gray day. Also the 70-300 VR gets pretty fuzzy as you near F11.

Yeah, the 70-300mm seams like a great tool to single out the interesting subjects! What a pity that the geese were trapped between a waste-bin and a yellow what-ever pole. You still have to choose your perspective wisely